After another win a few days later against the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York would finish November with a 4-1-0 record, scoring 12 goals while surrendering just six. Through the first five games of their history, the Rangers were part of three shutouts, getting wins against both Montreal teams (Maroons and Canadiens) while being blanked by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Unfortunately, the season hit a bump in December, with New York earning a 3-5-1 record in nine games, getting outscored by opponents 18-11. After back-to-back wins over the Boston Bruins, matching a season-high two-game win streak, they ended the month on a three-game losing streak, dropping contests to the Ottawa Senators, New York Americans, and Senators again. 

Note: The NHL had ties up until the 2005-2006 season when they introduced the shootout.

RELATED: NEW YORK RANGERS PLAYOFF HISTORY

New York Rangers History: The Inaugural Season

As 1927 started, the Rangers jumped out of the holiday break and won four straight games with consecutive shutouts over the Chicago Black Hawks (in 1987, they became the Blackhawks) and Canadiens before edging the Detroit Cougars (later Red Wings) and Maroons. Overall, New York finished January with an 8-1-2 record, nearly doubling their rivals on the scoreboard with a 30-19 goal difference. 

In a pattern all too familiar with Rangers fans across decades, the team stumbled through February, finishing the shortest month with a 5-4-1 record. Interestingly, New York was 1-2-1 in overtime contests during this stretch, which included another three-game win streak. Statistically, they scored just 20 goals while giving up 18, finding themselves on the wrong end of a shutout on two occasions. 

As the regular season wound down in March, the Rangers finished 5-2-2 in the final nine games, outscoring opponents 22-11. After getting shut out in the first two games of the month, they responded by completing the franchise’s first five-game win streak from March 15 to March 25 with wins over the Pirates, Cougars, Americans, Pirates, and Black Hawks. However, the Rangers did lose the final contest of the year, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins on March 26. 

Surprisingly, New York finished first in the American Division with a 25-13-6 record, good enough for 56 points, 11 points higher than the second-seeded Bruins, who were 21-20-3 with 45 points. As the top seed, the Rangers earned a bye to the Semi-Finals, where they lost a two-game series against the Bruins, scoring just a single goal. Eventually, the Senators would go on to defeat the Bruins and win the Stanley Cup, about a year before the Silver Chalice would make its first appearance on Broadway. 

Inside the numbers of the Rangers’ first season

Although Winkler got to play in the first game in franchise history, he finished the year with just eight starts, earning a 3-4-1 record, but still sported an impressive 1.65 goals-against average (GAA), based on today’s standards. Ultimately, most of the playing time went to Lorne Chabot, who played 37 games, compiling a 22-9-5 record with ten shutouts and a 1.51 GAA.

Offensively, 30-year-old Cook led the way with 37 points in 44 contests, the only player in the lineup with over 30 points. Surprisingly, the right winger became the Rangers’ first 30-goal player, finishing the campaign with 33 lamplighters and four assists. Additionally, Cook led the team with seven game-winning goals while having the third most penalty minutes with 56. His brother Bun Cook and linemate finished third in team scoring with 25 points.

Interestingly, six skaters, Clarence Abel, Bill Boyd, Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, and both Cook brothers played in all 44 games, with Murdoch scoring the first hat trick in club history with three goals in a 5-4 win over the Black Hawks on Jan. 16, 1927. Moreover, Bill Cook had two against the Pirates on Feb. 12, 1927, and Mar. 22, 1927, with Boucher collecting all the goals in the season finale against Boston on Mar. 26, 1927. 

Collectively, the team scored 95 goals, which ranked fourth overall behind the Black Hawks (115), Canadiens (99), and Bruins (97). Meanwhile, their netminders only gave up 72 goals, good enough for seventh in the league, just ahead of the Senators (69), Maroons (68), and Canadiens (67). 

Although the NHL only had three awards in 1926-27, with the Hart Memorial Trophy, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, and the Vezina Trophy, no one from the Rangers won any hardware that year. However, Cook was the unofficial winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for potting 33 goals, the only skater in the league to score more than 25. Additionally, if the Art Ross Trophy existed, Cook (37 points) would have won that too, edging out Dick Irvin (Black Hawks), who finished his year with 36 points. 

During their first season in the league, the Rangers beat every team at least twice, producing a winning record against seven other clubs except the eventual Stanley Cup champion Senators. Interestingly, Ottawa earned a 3-0-1 record in four head-to-head matchups, allowing New York to score four goals in those contests. 

Statistically, the Pirates were the Rangers’ favorite opponents, with New York picking up five wins in six games, outscoring Pittsburgh 15-6. Other matchup totals broke down like this: Black Hawks (4-2-0), Bruins (3-2-1), Cougars (3-1-2), Canadiens (3-1-0), Americans (3-1-0), Maroons (2-1-1), Maple Leafs (2-1-1). Meanwhile, the Rangers were tough to play at home with a 13-5-4 record, compared to an average 12-8-2 mark on the road.

Overall, the New York Rangers had one of the best debut seasons of an expansion franchise, which included five future Hall of Famers in the lineup: Bill Cook, Bun Cook, Frank Boucher, Ching Johnson, and the legendary Lester Patrick. Although the team came up short in year one, within 12 months, the Rangers were the kings of the NHL, capturing their first Stanley Cup title on Apr. 14, 1928. 

Stats via Hockey-Reference and the NHL.

Despite some of the game’s greatest players calling Madison Square Garden home, whether it was for one season or a decade, names like Wayne Gretzky, Phil Esposito, Brad Park, Eric Lindros, Sergei Zubov, Pavel Bure, Martin St. Louis, Brendan Shanahan, and Pat LaFontaine are missing from this list. Realistically, when people think of those names, they remember highlights from other teams. Although many of them had heroic moments on Broadway, most people would rarely associate their careers with being prominent players for the Rangers. 

Ultimately, our goal with this list is to determine which inductees have the strongest association with the Blueshirts. So, after crunching the numbers, and separating the players based on merits, here is the list of players in the Hockey Hall of Famer who best represent the Rangers. 

Related: Henrik Lundqvist to be inducted into HHOF

Top 10 New York Rangers in the Hall of Fame

10. Andy Bathgate

Anytime anyone writes a top ten list on any subject, some may question the last entry unless it’s concrete. Although many deserving names could have slid into this spot, we ultimately chose Andy Bathgate, who spent the first 12 seasons of his NHL career with the Rangers. Upon his departure from the team in 1964, he was the franchise’s leading scorer with 729 points, a mark he held for a decade until Jean Ratelle broke it in 1974. 

Coincidently, Bathgate’s jersey #9 is retired, sharing the honor with Adam Graves, who wore the number three decades later in the 1990s. Despite leaving New York 59 years ago, he still ranks fourth in goals, assists, and points. Even though he played in several other cities, and the team waited decades to retire his jersey, there’s no denying his place in Rangers’ history. 

9. Bill Cook

Bill Cook made his NHL debut at 30 after a dominant professional career in Canada, playing in his native Ontario, before venturing west to Saskatchewan (pre-NHL days). Eventually, he came to New York, joining the Rangers upon their inception in 1926. As the first captain in New York history, he also scored the first goal for the franchise on Nov. 16, 1926. 

Interestingly, Cook became one of the first players to surpass 60 points, achieving the feat alongside Frank Boucher in 1929-30. By that time, he had already won a Stanley Cup title (1928) and, within three seasons, would add another ring to his collection. Although he never won awards as a player, he served as Rangers’ head coach from 1951 to 1953, spending his entire NHL career with the Blueshirts. 

8. Ed Giacomin

Long before Mike Richter established a new record for wins by a goalie in 2003, a mark Lundqvist would break later, the winningest netminder for 25 years was franchise icon, Ed Giacomin. As a late bloomer, making his NHL debut at 26, the Canadian netminder would also set a franchise record for wins during the regular season with 38 in 1968-69, a total only surpassed by Richter (42) and Lundqvist (39) decades later.

During his career, Giacomin was a five-time All-Star and won the Vezina Trophy in 1970-71, becoming only the second Rangers goalie (at the time) to win the prestigious award. Although he finished his career with the Detroit Red Wings from 1976 to 1978, New York made him the second player in team history to have his number retired in 1989.

7. Jean Ratelle 

Jean Ratelle was just 20 years old when he put on a Rangers jersey for the first time in 1960-61, going on to forge one of the best statistical careers on Broadway over the next 16 seasons. As the center for the famous GAG line (Goal a Game) with Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, the trio rewrote the team record book and registered the first 100-point seasons in Rangers’ history.

Interestingly, Ratelle set the record at 109 in 1971-72, which stood for 34 years before Jaromir Jagr broke it with 123 points. Although he left town in the famous Phil Esposito trade in 1976, he remains amongst the top three in goals, assists, and points. Meanwhile, he is one of 11 players with their number retired by the club. 

6. Harry Howell

It has been 54 years since Harry Howell last wore a Rangers jersey, skating with the club from 1952 to 1969. And even though the league did not play 82 games in a season, he became the franchise’s leader with 1,160 games, a record that still stands today. 

Of course, there have many big names to patrol the blueline at Madison Square Garden, but no one did it longer than Howell, who won a Norris Trophy and was an All-Star in 1966-67. Even though he played eight seasons with other teams in the NHL and WHA, there’s no denying that he’s forever linked to the Rangers as one of their longest-tenured players. 

5. Frank Boucher

Outside of 24 games with the Ottawa Senators in 1921-22, Boucher was the first true “Mr. Ranger,” playing in 533 games over 13 seasons. Additionally, he served as New York’s coach from 1939 to 1949, with another season in 1953-54, compiling a 181-263-83 record behind the bench. Ultimately, he was a part of the Rangers organization in one capacity or another for 1,060 games. 

Statistically, at the time of his retirement in 1944, Boucher ranked as one of the franchise’s top scorers with 424 points. Furthermore, he won two Stanley Cup titles as a player in 1928 and 1933 and served as head coach of the 1940-winning team. As of 2023, he remains the only player in NHL history to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy seven times, claiming the award from 1928-1931 and 1933-1935. 

4. Mark Messier

There’s no denying that by the time Mark Messier came to New York in 1991, he was already a Hall of Famer. Five Stanley Cup championships during his tenure with the Edmonton Oilers will do that for a player. Additionally, he had already won the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) and Hart Trophies (league MVP). 

However, Messier will forever be associated with the Rangers for one historical playoff run in 1994, ending a 54-year championship drought. Whether it was guaranteeing a victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final and scoring a hat trick or scoring the Cup-clinching goal a few weeks later, those two iconic moments are the crown jewels of his Hall of Fame career.

Messier ended his career with 1,887 points which ranks third all-time. While many will argue that he should be higher on this list, we took into account the majority of his points and accomplishments were in Edmonton.

3. Rod Gilbert

There’s no denying some highly talented players have skated in a Rangers jersey, but there will be one that always stands out more than any other: Gilbert. Even though his franchise record for games played has fallen since his retirement in 1978, he remains the only player in team history to score 400 goals (406) and collect 1,000 points (1,021). 

The No. 7 is a beloved one around here.

A look behind the very first retired number in #NYR history and the legendary Rod Gilbert. 💙 https://t.co/WZtNPMZoE4 pic.twitter.com/98md4eJttx

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 7, 2023

Known as “Mr. Ranger,” Gilbert spent his 18-year career on Broadway and was very active in the community serving as the Rangers’ alumni association president until he died in 2021. Additionally, he played a significant role in the team’s charity Garden of Dream Foundation, engaging with countless fans who never saw him in action. Ultimately, no one represented the Rangers like he did, leaving behind a legacy that may go unmatched forever.

2. Henrik Lundqvist

Lundqvist is the greatest goalie to play for the Rangers and, without a doubt, only second to Martin Brodeur in accomplishments amongst the three NY/NJ area franchises. Unfortunately, the Swedish netminder never won a Stanley Cup; but instead rewrote the team’s record book and was one of his generation’s best statistical goalies with 459 wins. 

Welcome to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Henrik Lundqvist.#HHOF2023 | #HHOF pic.twitter.com/jeS2Gds8Dw

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 21, 2023

Although there is an argument that Lundqvist is ranked too high on this list, he spent his entire career in the Big Apple. Ultimately, many Rangers fans will remember his acrobatic saves in those Lady Liberty pads, backstopping his team to another win in the World’s Most Famous Arena.

1. Brian Leetch

Although the Rangers have four Stanley Cup championships, the team has only one Conn Smythe winner, Brian Leetch. As a two-time Norris Trophy winner and Rookie of the Year in 1989, the American-born defenseman played the first 17 years of his career in New York, helping the team to a championship in 1994. 

Statistically, Leetch came just 40 points shy of the franchise record (1,021) and was only 39 games away (1,160) from becoming the all-time leader in appearances in a Rangers jersey. Unfortunately, the team traded away a franchise icon in 2004, who finished his career with brief stops in Toronto and Boston. Moreover, he was the last defenseman to score 100 points in a season, with 102 in 1991-92, until Erik Karlsson scored 101 in 2022-23. 

At the end of the day, these lists are subjective as to ranking, but it’s hard to argue with the place these names hold in New York Rangers history.

Nine-teeeeen Four-teeeeeee. Nine-teeeeeen Four-teeeeee.

On February 10th, the New York Rangers will honor the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions with a pregame ceremony before their Original Six match-up against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s hard to believe that it will be a quarter-of-a-century since that magical Spring in which Mark Messier, as he said he would, led his team to the Promised Land. It’s equally hard to believe that the Rangers have not won any championships since. They did come close in 2014, but fell just short to the Los Angeles Kings in the Finals.

As glorious and as meaningful and as fulfilling as 1994 was, the fact of the matter is, it has been 25 years since we Rangers fans felt that unbridled euphoria of watching our team accept the Stanley Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman. An even more sobering reality is the Rangers have just that one championship in going on 80 years. The Rangers are, simply put, inept when it comes to building championship-level teams. Year after year, spring after spring, the Rangers find new and creative ways to disappoint their legions of loyal and devoted fans. For a franchise that seems allergic to winning championships, you’d think their fan base would have abandoned them decades ago, but we haven’t. We hang in there regardless of our levels of hurt and anguish.

It wasn’t always like that, however. In fact, during the time period when the Rangers first entered the NHL in 1926, and before they lost most of their top talent to fight in World War II, the Rangers were actually a rousing success. The Rangers finished first in their division in their inaugural season in the NHL, notching 25 wins and 56 points in only 44 games. In year two, incredibly, the Rangers went on to win their first Stanley Cup in 1928. In year three, 1929, the Rangers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to Boston. And people think the Vegas Golden Knights entered the NHL with a bang?

The 1930’s brought more good times and prosperity for the Blueshirts. They made it back to the Finals in 1932 and they brought home their second Stanley Cup in 1933. 1937 saw the Rangers advance to the Finals, again! During this decade, the Rangers missed the playoffs and finished under .500 just once (1935-36). The Rangers rivaled Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees teams as far as popularity was concerned in the Big Apple.

The Rangers also sported some of the league’s most noticeable players in their formative years. Hockey hall of famers such as Bill Cook, Bun Cook, Frank Boucher and Ivan “Ching” Jonhson all starred on Broadway. The Rangers were coached by the imaginative, the incomparable, the legendary Lester Patrick. Patrick was not only a superb coach and ingenious innovator, but he also, at the age of 44, played goalie in game two of the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals after starting net-minder Lorne Chabot took a puck to the eye and was unable to return. In those days, teams did not dress a back up goalie. If needed, literally, a would-be goalie would be pulled from the stands to fill-in, in case of injury. Patrick decided he would don the goalie pads when he realized he was the best man for the job. Miraculously, the middle-aged Patrick let in just one goal and the Rangers went on to win the game and the Cup.

The Rangers early success was so ubiquitous and omnipresent that it forced the Garden’s other hockey tenant, the New York Americans, out on to the city streets. After the Rangers won their third Stanley Cup in 1940, the Americans coach, Red Dutton, decided to move his team to Brooklyn hoping a new borough would enhance his team’s appeal to the rest of the New York Metropolitan area. Dutton’s attempt to regenerate his franchise’s popularity failed and his team would end up folding after the 1941-42 season. Dutton, famously, blamed the Rangers for his team’s demise and according to legend, put a curse on his former rival’s that they’d never win another championship in his lifetime. Between you, me and the lamppost, I never believed in any stinkin’ curse. There were many factors as to why it took the Rangers 54 years to win the Stanley Cup, but Voodoo was not among them.

There was a time in which the New York Rangers were the Gold Standard of the NHL. They weren’t always the “Team Who Cried Wolf.” They weren’t always the epitome of tantalization. Will the Rangers ever reach the same levels of success that they had during their infancy years? We certainly hope so. That is why we fans hang in there year after frustrating year. Let us hope that one day, our generation of fans will get to experience what our grandparents did and that is a tradition of winning hockey and repetitive celebrations.

With the Rangers preparing to retire the iconic number 19 of franchise great Jean Ratelle on February 25, 2018, it’s time to discuss whose sweater should be the next to join Ratelle’s in the rafters at MSG.

While most hockey fans have at least heard of the famous “GAG Line,” there’s another line in Rangers’ history that deserves recognition.

GAG Line

The Goal-A-Game Line of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, and Rod Gilbert was formed during the 1965-66 season. The trio would remain together until Hadfield was sent to Pittsburgh during the 1973-74 season. Their best season was in 1971-72 when Ratelle, Hadfield, and Gilbert finished third, fourth, and fifth respectively in the NHL scoring race.

Although they failed to win a Stanley Cup, the GAG Line was nonetheless effective. But this next line won not just one Cup but two.

Bread Line

The “Bread Line,” was the first super trio in Rangers’ history. It consisted of three Hall of Famers — Bun Cook (left-wing), Frank Boucher (centre), and Bill Cook (right-wing).

With this Line leading the way, the Rangers won two Stanley Cups in their first seven years of existence.

In their second ever season (1927-28) this trio combined for 87-points. Remember, NHL seasons were 44-games not 82-games at the time. Such was the ability of this line that they added 18 more points in the team’s nine postseason games. This lead to them winning the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Maroons.

During the 1932-33 season, the Bread Line once again led the Blueshirts to a Stanley Cup victory. This time over the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the season expanded to 48-games, the heralded trio recorded 122-points, and 10 more points in eight postseason games.

The pivot of the line, Frank Boucher, was the spark that ignited the Cook Brothers.

Frank Boucher

As an original Ranger, Boucher holds a special, yet somewhat overlooked place in franchise history. Frank exhibited all the traits of a franchise icon, as evidenced by his seven Lady Byng Awards. As of this writing, his number 7 sweater has not yet been retired to its’ rightful place — the MSG rafters.

Many fans will surely argue that there is no point in retiring Boucher’s number 7. After all, the great Rod Gilbert — the Rangers’ franchise scoring leader — already has his number 7 hanging from the rafters.

Well the counterargument to that is quite simple. There are two number 9s hanging up there — Adam Graves and Andy Bathgate — so there should be no issue with having two number 7s.

The Rangers are currently mending fences with Jean Ratelle — it only took a few decades — so why not do the same with Boucher?

Not only was Boucher an instrumental part of two Cup-winners, but he would later return to the team as head coach for the 1939-40 season. His tenure would last until the 1953-54 season. That first season behind the bench, Boucher led the Blueshirts to a Stanley Cup championship, again against the Maple Leafs.

Boucher would then activate himself as a player at the age of 42 for the 1943-44 season while most of his players were off fighting in World War II.

Closing Argument